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Wipe on clear coats

Hi, I am looking into wipe on clear coats. There are a few companies like X-Kote and Restor FX which seem to offer the same thing. Essentially they are just applying a clear coat mixture to your vehicle by hand and they are not preping it with sanding. I have seen a vehicle right after it was applied and it looked great but I am wondering how long it will last or in a couple years does anything happen to your paint? A big part seems to be applying it correctly so you don't get streaks in the paint but my concern is does anything weird happen to your paint in the future? Any in sight good or bad would be appreciated.

Re: Wipe on clear coats

There should be absolutely zero negative effects on your paint due to the application of one of these semi permanent coatings. To use them properly the paint should be prepared to darn near perfection, and then the actual application is critical so as to ensure a totally flat surface with no high spots, marks from the applicator, etc. But that's usually pretty straightforward - the tricky part is that a very little bit of product goes a very long way. One of these companies actually supplies a syringe with a an amount of product so small you'd think it was just a tiny sample, but it's actually enough to fully cover a couple of cars at least.

One potential downside to these coatings is that if the car is subsequently run through a cheap automatic car wash it can still get brush marks in it. And in order to remove those swirl marks you need an abrasive that will eventually remove the coating. The ultimate goal of these coatings is durability and longevity, not necessarily appearance. Protection over beauty, as it were. Nothing at all wrong with that, as long as you understand that going in.

Re: Wipe on clear coats

Ok I have asked about these before,
Let me ask something slightly different,
If you do the correction and get your paint perfect, and then do one of these coatings, would you not have that much more room for correction next time.
I mean you knock it down and build it back up type thing, instead of just taking away a little bit of clear coat every time.
you would put back a little with the coating and then a year or 2 latter you have more head room to do it again .
Just a thought, I don't know if it would work or not

Or are you not able to polish these coatings after words, or apply wax to them?

I think it would havr to cure and this seems as a I am gonna sell my car and wannna fix that spot kind things im not into paint as much as detailing but if its a small panel or some thing look at refinishing its cost vs ur method and see price vs outcome and how long ur gonna have this car and be buffing and polishing on it for

Re: Wipe on clear coats

Originally Posted by Marine Toys

Ok I have asked about these before,
Let me ask something slightly different,
If you do the correction and get your paint perfect, and then do one of these coatings, would you not have that much more room for correction next time.
I mean you knock it down and build it back up type thing, instead of just taking away a little bit of clear coat every time.
you would put back a little with the coating and then a year or 2 latter you have more head room to do it again .
Just a thought, I don't know if it would work or not

Or are you not able to polish these coatings after words, or apply wax to them?

Correct your paint to perfection, apply the coating, and treat the car as you always have after that. If you develop swirls they will be in the coating, unless enough time has passed and the coating has thinned quite a bit (they don't last forever) at which point they may be through the coating and into the paint a bit. You can then buff out those swirls as you normally would, but you'd be taking off much, if not all, of the coating. No biggie, just reapply it.

You can wax over these coatings if you like, but part of the reason for their existence is so that you don't have to wax any more. But that goes back to the "protection over beauty" thing - what do you really want from your finish? Do you truly enjoy caring for your cars finish so that waxing isn't a chore but relaxation? Do you like experimenting with different waxes, polishes, etc? If you answered "yes" to those two questions then these coatings probably aren't for you. But if you answered "no", these may be just the thing. But again, they aren't totally impervious to swirls, so they aren't "perfect". They are amazingly durable, however, which is why they tend to be really popular in Asia where acid rain and industrial fallout is at a shockingly high level.

Re: Wipe on clear coats

Originally Posted by Michael Stoops

"protection over beauty"

I think that's a major point right there! So far I did the front bumper and fronts of the mirrors on my truck. The areas that see the most bugs and dirt as well as my chrome exhaust tips. I think this weekend I will do my rims and the grill of the truck. I was going to do the entire truck but I enjoy waxing and detailing too much to take that away. Still thinking of doing the roof too since I need to use a 6' step ladder to wash it. lol